King's College brighter, greener with solar donation

Students aren’t the only bright ones at King’s College.

One of the college’s buildings will have a brighter glow that will help the school turn — and keep more — green.

King’s on the Square, the former Ramada Hotel on Public Square that King’s bought and converted into student housing, classrooms, labs and offices, will rely more on solar power to supplement its energy supply.

Panzitta Enterprises Inc., Wilkes-Barre, the general contractor for the King’s on the Square project, donated 214 solar panels that were being installed on the former hotel’s roof. Panzitta purchased the panels and is paying Endless Mountains Solar Services LLC, Wilkes-Barre, to install them. Panzitta will maintain ownership of the panels and will donate the generated power to the college.

The installation is the first known commercial use of solar energy in downtown Wilkes-Barre.

John Panzitta, president of Panzitta Enterprises, said he made the donation because of his and his family’s close affiliation with King’s.

“I”m a graduate, many members of my immediate family are graduates, said Panzitta. “I thought I’d make that contribution.”

He is one of seven members of his family who are King’s alumni.

The solar power will supplement the electrical power from the grid, Panzitta said.

“It will not provide all the power,” he said. “There’s not enough room on the roof to provide all of the power.”

There only is 12,000 square feet of space on the building’s tower roof to fit the panels. A lower roof is mostly in the tower’s shadow, so it does not get enough sun.

According to projections from Endless Mountains Solar Services, the panels will generate approximately $500,000 worth of electricity during their 25-year lifespan.

Panzitta said that will allow King’s to use money it saves on utility bills educate students, reduce its carbon footprint and advance its sustainability efforts.

He said the installation began last Monday and should have been finished by the weekend or today, weather permitting.

Panzitta believes the King’s property is the first commercial property in downtown Wilkes-Barre to use solar power, though the city maintenance garage on Conyngham Street and, of course, Endless Mountains Solar Services on Scott Street also utilize solar.

“The King’s community is appreciative to Panzitta Enterprises for this thoughtful gift that will result in measurable progress for the college toward a goal in the 2013-2018 strategic plan to make our campus more efficient, sustainable and attractive,” King’s president, the Rev. John Ryan, C.S.C., Ph.D., said in a statement issued to media. “By incorporating the solar panels, the carbon footprint of the building will be decreased by an estimated 2.6 million pounds of carbon dioxide over the life of the panels.”

Reach Joe Sylvester at 570-991-6110 or on Twitter @TLNews.

King"s College brighter, greener with solar donation